A Glass Buttes Adventure
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
OBSIDIAN A Glass Buttes Adventure by F. Scott Crawford www.ArrowheadCollectingOnTheWeb.com www.StoneBreaker-FSC.net “OBSIDIAN ~ A Glass Buttes Adventure” beckons you to observe the hidden secrets of the ancient art and craft known to many as “Flint Knapping”. Numerous rich flows of Obsidian, the volcanic glass, cover these slopes. Glass Buttes obsidian was utilized at least as far back as the Clovis culture, over 13,000 years ago. Clovis-style lance point knapped from transparent “Midnight Lace” Obsidian found at Glass Buttes, in eastern Oregon. Produced by F. Scott Crawford in 2005 A.D. ISBN-10: 1-48120-452-1 $14.95 The Soft Cover Book Is Available From: https://www.CreateSpace.com/4089344 Copyright © 2007, 2009, 2012. F. Scott Crawford. All rights reserved. ISBN-10: 1-48120-452-1 ISBN-13: 978-1481204521 www.ArrowheadCollectingOnTheWeb.com www.Arrowhead-Maker.com www.StoneBreaker-FSC.net www.Arrowhead-MakeYourOwn.com DEDICATION For Maggie, “forever & forever.” F. Scott Crawford OBSIDIAN ~ A Glass Buttes Adventure Welcome To The “Glass Buttes” Volcanoes In Eastern Oregon. From the 1990’s until 2010, every summer in late This “flint knapping” Workshop was long hosted by I thought it would be interesting for rockhounds and curious and hungry flint knappers through the June and again in late September a group of 10 to Craig Ratzat as a teaching service to the customers students of native population technologies to bring untold millennia of human history, there would be 12 students gathered for several days of obsidian of his www.Neolithics.com website, a source of you a glimpse of the seldom seen world of flint no space age, no modern transportation systems, no knapping instruction, demonstrations and practice at knapping stone and tools for knappers of all ages knapping (it is pretty much just obsidian knapping iron and steel construction materials, no copper Glass Buttes, in eastern Oregon. and levels of expertise, from beginners to advanced. up here on Glass Buttes). pennies or electrical wiring, and, of all things, no Personally, I have been to four of Craig’s Knapping This activity has gone on for thousands of years, internet! Workshops over the last ten or twelve years. The and has somehow remained a secret society, with It is an absolute certainty that if ancient knappers Glass Buttes instructions and demonstrations have very little public acknowledgement of its products, had not been seeking out all the good sources of been instrumental in helping me advance along my its teaching and its vast influence on all aspects of sharp and workable stone, we would never have journey through the wonders of stone tool making. modern technology. mastered the natural resources which are so In addition, all of us students have been able to pick Some folks are absolutely sure that without the integral to modern life. the brains of a number of alumni of the Workshops. ground- and stone-breaking research performed by That’s enough propaganda! These are previous students who have excelled in Now, let’s take a behind-the-scenes look at learning and mastering the knapping craft. They what really happens when flint knappers of show up again and again to give support and all levels of skill get together for a few days encouragement to the new breakers of stone. of exploration and “limited” exploitation of Plus, they all just love to razz the teacher ... and the incredible obsidian flows which have share stories about all the giant stones they dug out been known and utilized at Glass Buttes for in the old days, when they had to work barefoot in thousands of years. the obsidian fields and quarry out the stone for class Come along through the next few pages, here at with their bare hands, etc., etc. Really, I think they mile post 77, east of Bend, Oregon on Highway 20. just come around for the camp food! FSC 4 5 F. Scott Crawford OBSIDIAN ~ A Glass Buttes Adventure Quarrying Rock! Supervising! The first thing you learn at Another thing you soon one of Craig Ratzat’s Glass discover is that the trenches Buttes Workshops is that you for quarrying are not always cannot break rock until you very wide. Maybe one or have learned how to obtain it. two people can work side by Out here on the slopes of this side. ancient volcano, that can That means that the rest of mean digging into the old your group gets to take a flows of obsidian mixed with break while you are sweating pumice and ash. away down in the rock pit. And naturally, the larger They do have to learn how to pieces which you would like supervise the labor of others. to obtain are deeply buried. After all, how else will they Sometimes a few minutes of see your special talent for overburden removal is all making dirt fly. that is needed. But, some- All the time, you wonder times that process can take what this has to do with hours of work ... in the hot, knapping stone? dry summer sunshine. And then, that one great As you can see, there are also boulder of obsidian comes areas on the mountain where loose at your feet. Now it is you can simply pick up nice yours! size chunks of obsidian and place them in a bucket. These are areas where the slow moving obsidian flow emerged from cracks in the surface and individual pieces tumbled down the hill side. 6 7 F. Scott Crawford OBSIDIAN ~ A Glass Buttes Adventure A Few Good Chunks Of Obsidian ... 4 Days Of Knapping. So, you roll that chunk of stone out of the pit. With Your head is full of visions of sunshine glinting on every intention of setting it aside so that you and the freshly fashioned obsidian blades and points you alone can work on it. which you are going to produce. And just let somebody else pick up your chunk! Ha! Yet, in just a few more minutes digging you roll out two or three more nice boulders of volcanic glass. Pretty soon you have no idea which piece it was that you so treasured, and you just dig on through the stone, knowing that you will have all that you can break for the next week, after you and your fellow students have completed your quarrying activities. 8 9 F. Scott Crawford OBSIDIAN ~ A Glass Buttes Adventure “99 Attaboys! = 1 Oh $*%@!” Each teaching session involves discussion and demonstration of a different stage in the preparation of raw material for and then the actual production of knapped tools. Craig clearly shows the processes to the group and then works with each individual student to evaluate and refine their skills. As he teaches and demonstrates the skilled results of many years of practice and careful thought about his work, new students and long- time friends alike loudly echo their respect for his expertise and their frustration at their own pace of knapping development across the mountain slopes: “We hate Craig Ratzat!” Of course, that sentiment initially caused Craig some discomfort. But today, after considering the great respect in which his students hold him, Craig just grins and answers back: “It’s alright to hate Craig Ratzat!” “But It Looks So Easy!” This side broke during the notching process of this Calf Creek style spearpoint. Just a little twist out of line with your hand or tool and you can split the blade lengthwise like this. 10 11 F. Scott Crawford OBSIDIAN ~ A Glass Buttes Adventure “Flute That Thing!” One of Craig’s early students regularly comes to the Glass Buttes workshops, bringing hope and inspiration to each new group of knapping enthusiasts. Mike’s favorite project is the production of Clovis style spearheads. With several years of dedicated practice, he has become very proficient in the hand fluting of these defining tools of the very earliest explorers of North America. As he works, Craig’s new students and Mike’s long-time friends alike loudly encourage his signature objective: “Flute that thing!” 12 13 F. Scott Crawford OBSIDIAN ~ A Glass Buttes Adventure First On This Mountain? Glass Buttes is one of those places where every step high mountain slopes. Maybe it was made by a you take is likely to be exactly where another man, youngster, who was learning to work the stone, just woman or child walked before you, sometimes as like you. long as 12,000 years ago. It is almost a sacred place; where the secrets of Their footprints may not be visible to you, but the working this amazing volcanic stone have been protected evidence of their activities abounds. passed down for over four hundred generations. Keep your eyes open and you might find a dart point hidden in the ground hugging leaves of the 14 15 F. Scott Crawford OBSIDIAN ~ A Glass Buttes Adventure You Can See 12,000 Years! Glass Buttes at sunset does incredible things to your vision. At the right time of year you can still see the native big game like elk, mule deer and antelope. And, when you squint your eyes in exactly the correct manner, looking out across the miles and back through the years, you can still see the ancient hunters stalking their prey across the valleys below the far mountain ridges of the Oregon desert. 16 17 F. Scott Crawford OBSIDIAN ~ A Glass Buttes Adventure A Natural Place To Sit, Work And Watch For Dinner. Hundreds, even thousands, of years ago, native craftsmen would sit on this stone bench near the top of Glass Buttes. From this elevated shelf of the mountain, they could see for many miles across the valleys and mountains.